Justin Allgaier is Frustrated with JRM’s Fate After a Heartbreaking End to Phoenix

As the action at Phoenix Raceway commenced with the Call811.com Every Dig, Every Time 200, no driver was as impressive throughout the Truck Series race as Dale Earnhardt Jr’s star, Justin Allgaier. Right from the very start, the 37-year-old JR Motorsports driver was looking like the one to beat, as he slotted into the lead after the first 50 laps, avoiding a big wreck that was triggered right behind him.

While Justin Allgaier had squeezed through safely this time, his dominant lead would meet an untimely end with only five laps to go. His No. 7 Chevy Camaro was caught off guard as it sustained a left rear flat, sending him spinning into oblivion as Chandler Smith sealed victory at the very end, leaving the JR Motorsports star with nothing but frustration.

Despite having a race-winning Chevy, Allgaire’s weekend suffers an unfortunate blowout

Justin Allgaier is no stranger to finding his way to the very front at Phoenix Raceway, with two wins in Arizona and a handful of top-five finishes. And that’s just what the JR Motorsports star did at the very start, slingshotting past John Hunter Nemechek, who had been fighting with Cole Custer in the first 50 laps for the lead. He maintained his lead until the very end, with a gap of three seconds over the fields as the board announced 5 laps to go.

Unfortunately, this was when Justin Allgaier braked for turn 1, the flat tire lost all air, sending him spinning out of contention. While the impact looked scary, Allgaier was released from the medical evaluation, with his frustration being the biggest consequence. In the post-race interview, he reflected on his misery at Phoenix. Sharing with FrontStretch, he said, “Left rear tire just went flat, unfortunately. Not a lot of good emotions to be honest with you at the moment. Just proud of the effort, proud of everybody at Jr Motorsports, I mean, everybody at GM and Chevrolet has been working hard. Seems like this is the story of our year so far.”

With the Camaro beneath his feet, Justin Allgaier was able to lead 52 laps, falling short to C. Smith in the end. He further went on to reveal how he was feeling confident with the Camaro, as it had put in solid results each week, even bringing home two top tens for Allgaier in the first four races.

But unfortunately, no one could predict that a tire on the #7 would blow out the way it did. Still, Allgaier felt this was a big missed opportunity, as he exclaimed, “I think the heartbreaker from today was being that far out knowing that we had the car to win at the end there. Obviously, if you’re ever going to be this fast in Xfinity, that was the time to do it.” 

Sharing his belief that the flat tire was caused by debris instead of natural wear, he stated, “Going through the dogleg, I felt it wiggle a little bit; I kinda knew what that already meant but at that point, there’s what three laps to go or two laps to go, you gotta hope that it holds on and unfortunately, as soon as I lifted it blew out, and that was the end of it.” 

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With that shocking turn of events, Justin Allgaier’s #1 finish turned into an unfortunate DNF that placed him 29th on the list after the race was over. While Allgaier couldn’t help but feel sorry for his poor luck, he felt even worse for the team that had executed a ‘flawless’ race until the unfortunate moment with 5 laps to go.

“Beyond a kick in the gut,” No. 7 driver sympathizes with the veteran crew chief

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Although Allgaier’s DNF wasn’t the result he wanted, the JR Motorsports star couldn’t help but feel worse for the #7 garage, which had been consistently providing him with a top-ten car ever since the season began. And for Phoenix, they had not just brought a top-ten car but one that could win dominantly. With that said, Justin Allgaier felt devastated that he couldn’t capitalize on the team’s hard work.

He stated, “It is beyond a kick in the gut. Not even for myself, it’s a kick in the gut for all the guys and girls that work at Jr Motorsports and the effort that they put into this #7 team, and you know, Jim Pohlman called a flawless race, we had great pit stops all day.” Allgaier had nothing but praise for his crew chief, Jim Pohlman, who used to be the crew chief for former F1 driver and 2X Indy Champ, Juan Pablo Montoya, while he was at Chip Ganassi Racing.

But despite the best efforts of the veteran crew chief, the tire blowout proved to pour water all over the team’s hard work. Reflecting on their actual result compared to what could have been, Justin Allgaier concluded, “We did all the right things and we’re gonna walk out of here with what, a 38th place finish or something, I don’t know. Some mid-30s, and it doesn’t show anywhere close to what we have for our racecars so, bad day.”

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At the end of the day, the #7 garage couldn’t help but be all doom and gloom owing to their result at Phoenix. But with that said, given their consistent pace, Allgaier is bound to bounce back sooner rather than later.